Little League Graduate George W. Bush Begins Second Term as U.S. President

President Bush addresses the
crowd during the 2001 Little League Baseball World Series in
Williamsport, Pa., after he is enshrined in the Hall of
Excellence of the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum.

Note:
Click here
to see one of George W. Bush’s Little League rosters from Central
Little League in Midland, Texas

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (Jan. 20, 2005) – Little League International
congratulates George W. Bush, the first Little League graduate to
attain the highest office in the land, as he is sworn in today for his
second term as the 43rd President of the United States.

As a youth, President Bush played in the Midland (Texas) Central
Little League for several years in the 1950s. His mother and father,
George and Barbara Bush, were volunteers in the league at the time. In
an interview with Oprah Winfrey before the 2000 election, President
Bush cited Little League as providing his fondest childhood memory.

In 2001, President Bush was enshrined in the Hall of Excellence of the
Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum. Enshrinement in the Hall of
Excellence is for Little League graduates who have gone on to become
role models as adults. Details about President Bush’s enshrinement can
be found here:
http://www.littleleague.org/media/archive/bushstory.htm

President Bush was apparently a skilled player in his youth, according
to an excerpt from a letter written by his father, George Bush, in
1955:

"Georgie aggravates me at times," the elder Mr. Bush wrote to his
father-in-law. "I am sure that I do the same to him. But then at times
I am so proud of him I could die. He is out for Little League, so
eager. He tries so very hard. He has good fast hands and even seems to
be able to hit a little."

In a letter to Little League International, the former president said:
"Little League has, indeed, been a big part of (George W.'s) life. ...
To say we are proud of George W. is the classic understatement of the
year. He has a huge job ahead of him, but he will do his best and I
think the country will give him a chance."

Future U.S. President George
W. Bush poses in his Little League uniform in 1955. (Photo
courtesy of the George Bush Presidential Library)

Frank Ittner, who was President Bush's coach on the Cubs at Midland
Central Little League from 1955 until 1958, spoke about young George
W. Bush in an interview with Little League in the fall of 2000. "He
was a good catcher, and you could always rely on him to be there for
every game and every practice. He was very dependable."

Other prominent government officials who played Little League as
children include: former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, former
New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, former Vice President Dan Quayle,
Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman; and Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne.
About 30 million people have played Little League since its inception
in 1939.

"We're proud that President Bush is a former Little Leaguer and the
first to be elected to our nation's highest office," said Stephen D.
Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League
Baseball and Softball. "The leadership and teamwork skills he began to
learn as a child in Little League have served him well. We wish him,
his family, and his administration the very best during his second
term."

President Bush places a ball
on the tee before a Tee Ball on the South Lawn game at the
White House. President and Mrs. Bush have invited Little
League teams to the White House grounds for Tee Ball games in
each of the past four years.

Items from the first game in
President Bush’s Tee Ball on the South Lawn program, played on
May 6, 2001, are on display in the Smithsonian Institution’s
Museum of American History.